Tag Archives: family time

Multitasking And Keeping Your Family Happy

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This past labor day, I took my wife and kids out to a little place called Rinky Dink Family Fun Center.  Basically it was an activity place that has what seems like a ton of fun stuff for kids (and to a lesser extent adults too).  It has three putt-putt golf courses, an arcade, a go-kart course, bumper boats, a bouncy inflatable to jump in, a batting cage, food, ice cream, etc.  Pretty much it’s basically a kid’s paradise, but not for me.

 

putt putt golf

putt putt golf

 

I decided to take the latest book that I borrowed from the library along with my new laptop and was going to go to town and crank out a few posts for my blog.  Once I got there, my daughter convinced me otherwise (yeah, she’s got me wrapped around her little finger).  So, I bought 4 rounds of golf (at $6 per person) and we played putt-putt golf.  We all had a great time, and the kids, wife and I were heading to the arcade portion of the family center, when I noticed something very unusually.  There, in the room where they hold birthdays, tucked out-of-the-way sitting by a small table, was a man with a book and a laptop.  I thought, “he stole my idea“, but good for him!

As I stood there in disbelieve, a party of four young teenagers went over to him, asked for their dad’s credit card, then got in line for some food (ice cream I believe).  Apparently, he was multitasking by taking his teenage kid(s) along with some friend to the Family Fun Center.  You see, the Rinky Dink center has a pay one price and the guests can do anything that they want all day long, and I’m betting that is what the guy decided to do.  In my head I was clapping and congratulating him for living what I preach and multitasking to get more done.  He’s being a great dad, by letting his kids have a great time, while doing some serious work while keeps a close eye on them or at least know where they are at and what they are doing.

I was going to do the same idea as he was doing, but my daughter’s wish to have me participate in put-put golf, won out (and always will).  But in this guy’s case, his teenage kids and their friends would have a better time goofing off around in the park.  So for this man, he had a win-win scenario!  He got his work done and scored big points with his kids (and their friends).

I have to admit, I was dumbfounded to see my idea being practiced by another person.  And I thought I was so clever…  I believe that I just saw what I will be  doing and look like in another 3 to 5 years from now.  I heard the twilight theme sounds in my head as I left the future version of myself back at the Family Fun Center, very weird experience!

Do you multitask in cases like this one, effectively creating win-win scenarios for you and your family?

MR

 

A Rare Special Frugal Activity With My Son

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Meteor

Meteor Showers

Last night, my son semi-excitedly asked me if I want to watch a meteor shower.  That day, I was pretty ragged, not sleeping much because of computer problems I’ve been having for the last few days.  I could have said, no thanks son, I’m too tired… but I didn’t, and here’s why!

  • It’s rare that my son ask me to do things with him, so when he does, I try very hard to make it happen with him.
  • There are only so many meteor showers during the year, and if it’s overcast or the moon is too bright, then there are even less opportunities.
  • It’s a great frugal activity, we just sit in a couple of chairs each of us wrapped in our own blankets (if it’s cold like last night) and just look up in the sky and joke around.
  • Letting my son come up with a plan and following it through, helps him build his confidence and makes him feel more like a leader and decision maker!
  • It’s actually kind of fun to see the meteors zip across the sky!  In the half an hour that we were out there, I saw about 10, and my son saw about 30.  At one point, he saw three at once!  His eyes are faster than mine so he’s able to see and react more quickly.

After having such a great positive experience, the next time, I think I’ll make popcorn and prepare some warn beverage if it’s cold like last night, perhaps hot chocolate and hot tea.  If time permits, perhaps we’ll even build a campfire in the backyard.  Starting a campfire is one of his favorite things to do.

-MR

Family Time – Lemons To Lemonade

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Family Time is worth more than money! 

So in this Lemons to Lemonade series, I’m going to cover how to maximize your Family Time with the kids.  In particular, I’m going to describe how we turned the sports our kids are in, from Lemons to Lemonade!

First, let me say that Family Time with your kids is worth more than money!  It’s something that most of us don’t realize until much later in life, so experience and enjoy it as much as you can.  It’s something you can’t buy more of later with money!!!

A friend told my wife that she doesn’t let her kids play sports because she cherishes their family time too much.

This got my wife to think about family time and if sports like soccer was gobbling up too much valuable family time…

She came to the conclusion that it wasn’t and here are the reasons why:

  • Watching and rooting for you kids in sports is great for the entire family.  And it give our kids a confidence boost knowing that the family (including grandparents, aunts and uncles) came out to support them.
  • We have 2 kids, so while one is out, we interact with the other one.  Sometimes, when my son is on the bench for a rotation, we’ll practices soccer stuff with my daughter, and of course vice versa.  Often we have a good time because it gets silly .  This time is enjoyed by all of us!
  • The driving time is practically forced time for the kids to interact with us socially.  Both my wife and I really enjoy the chats in the car when driving the kids to their games!
  • We interact with other parents, and they’ll cheer our kids on (and we cheer their kids on too).  As a kid, I would think it’s extra exciting hearing non-family members cheer for you!
  • Many times, we’ll go out to eat after the games, especially on longer, away games.  This is a treat for us all, in addition to the extra family time we experience.

So the lemons to lemonade process that we accomplished with the kid’s soccer games is to take an activity that could be considered a chore (Mom’s taxi service, etc), and converted it into an excellent opportunity for quality family time!

Often I find that it only takes a little to change a negative to a positive. 

Do you have any lemon to lemonade stories that you would like to share?

-MR

Did you like this kind of story, if so, check out my first in the “Lemon to Lemonade” series: Lemons to Lemonade Series #1 – Long Commute Drives

Also, related to this Lemon to Lemonade series is my guest post on Cash Flow Sherpas called:  Saving Money and Time With Audiobooks!